The market for industrial PCs is driven by an increasing rate of technological advancements in hardware and software. This includes Intel’s Atom processor, increased computing power, increased ruggedness, and also failsafe industrial PCs, such as Siemens’ Soft PLC.
The market had enjoyed high growth rates until the economic crisis. The industrial PC market structure is fragmented, with no dominant player on a regional or global level. While industrial PC technology itself has matured, new applications and requirements will enable differentiation through hardware and software. “In 2009, the market dropped by 19 percent. Even though the recovery will start quickly, the level of the boom year 2008 will not be reached again until 2012. A major factor dampening the recovery is the constant drop in prices that is driven by user demand and a drop in intermediate goods prices,” according to Analyst Florian Güldner, the principal author of ARC Advisory Group’s “Industrial PCs Worldwide Outlook.
